Brews For Boobies – 2008

Facts

Date: Saturday, September 20, 2008

Number of Crawls: 1

Attendees: About 40

Donation Raised: Over $1000

A Review

Saturday, September 20, 2008, marked the first annual “Brews for Boobies” pub crawl, taking place in Old City Philadelphia, to help raise money and awareness for the Breast Cancer Foundation. The pub crawl migrated between eight different bars between 12:30 pm and 12:30am. The bars who so generously participated were Sugarmom’s, National Mechanics Bar and Restaurant, Society Hill Hotel, Eulogy Belgian Tavern, Triumph Brewing Co., Buffalo Billiards, Khyber, and Brownie’s Irish Pub. The price of the crawl was twenty-five dollars, all of which went to the Breast Cancer Foundation. The money then got you a t-shirt at the first bar, and various food and drink specials throughout the night at most of the bars.

Neil Harner wants you to know that men get breast cancer too. “People think it’s a chick thing, but there are plenty of cases where men have been diagnosed with breast cancer.” Harner is the man who put the idea his girlfriend Lindsay Mason and a few of her friends had about a pub crawl for Breast Cancer into action. Harner’s only direct sponsor was his Lower Bucks County graphic and web design business, Inverse Paradox. Helping him to put the crawl together were his business partners Melissa Levenduski, who designed the logo, t-shirts, postcards, and posters, Scott Willey who did a lot of the promotion, and got many of the bars to participate, and also Harner’s mother, Terry Brophy, who came up with the catchy “Brews for Boobies” name. Brophy said that no one in their family had ever had Breast Cancer, but that she raised him to be “a very feminist boy,” mainly because she too was active in non-profit groups, and Neil became “very aware of women’s issues.”

This was not the first beer themed event to raise awareness that Harner and his team put together. In April of this year they held the first ever Beer Tasting at Manny Brown’s in Bensalem, PA. All proceeds from that benefited the American Cancer Society. Harner said his biggest inspiration is “to raise awareness and show that everyday people can have a good time and make a difference while doing it.”

Triumph Brewing Co.’s bar where the crawl was from 6:30 to 8:00 was lined with people wearing the designated black and pink “Brews for Boobies” shirt. Everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves over food, drinks, and great conversation. “I’m having a blast tonight,” said Brophy. For those who were not involved, all of the people in matching t-shirts were eye catching. Where did they get those shirts,” said an unidentified patron. “I want one.”

Even at the final bar, Brownies Irish Pub, people were still going strong, enjoying the final hour and a half of what turned out to be one fabulous and productive night. “My Aunt is currently battling Breast Cancer,” said Jamie McDonald. “So for an event like this to be happening, it’s nice that it can have a fun upbeat attitude, while still benefiting such a serious cause.”

When it was all said and done, approximately forty people came and went throughout the night, and upwards of $1000 was raised for the Breast Cancer Foundation. When asked if “Brews for Boobies” would become an annual event, “damn right,” was all Harner needed to say.